Friday, November 22, 2013

Grateful for Circles, Circles, and Broken Circles!


Greetings, and thanks for stopping by!  You may not know this about me but I am obsessed with circles.  I love to stare at anything that is circular, completely round or asymmetrical.  I love the symbology of any type or shape of circle.  So Terri Stegmiller's Broken Circles stencil really speaks to me, and I am grateful for the opportunity to play with it!  And, speaking of grateful:  I am grateful for every single moment of every day.  To be able to create art and pursue what I love in my studio, with my family& friends, my garden, kitchen….I'm very fortunate and I don't take any of it for granted.  

For this project I brought out a piece of 300 lb cold press watercolor paper that had been previously painted.  The small circles are that tiny bubble wrap, and the asymmetrical shapes are a piece of bath mat.  I did a heavily tinted acrylic wash, stuck those things on the paper and let the paper dry with them in place.  The surface tension of the plastic objects "attracts" the moisture to it and therefore leaves a heavier tint where the paper contacted the plastic.  Cool, huh?

So, this is my staring point.
In addition, I used the head shape from the Face Map stencil.
Face Map stencil, by Pam Carriker


I used the cut-out from Face Map as a resist.

Placing the Broken Circles stencil onto the paper (and over the resist) I pounced transparent white
acrylic paint over the surface.




I moved the stencil to the left portion to cover the surface with marks.

As you can see, the shape of the face is not at all clear yet

Next, I used a darker shade of aqua acrylic paint
for the second layer of marks.

I slightly off-set the stencil from the white layer.


I like how the plastic face looks!

I position the face stencil over the opening where the plastic resist was.

Using an opaque white, I fill the opening in the stencil.



Using a permanent marker, I write a memory (I'll explain below) in the face shape.

Finally, I use the same dark aqua acrylic to enhance the outline of the face with this "contour" 
portion of the stencil.

Here is the finished page.
Both of these stencils were very important to this specific memory.


Now, I have to share with you what I was thinking about when I was creating this page that is to be glued into my sketchbook.  I was thinking about the symbology of circles.  How we revisit memories in a circular fashion throughout our lives.  I looked at the stencil and thought about the symbology of the broken circle, and how this day, the 22nd of November, is the 50th anniversary of the day President Kennedy was assassinated.  Because I think journals are memory-keepers for both the good and the sad things we experience, I am creating this page to recall my experience of that day.  The writing inside the face is my memory of being a nine year-old fourth grader at Crestview Elementary school in Topeka, Kansas.  Our principal came into our classroom and told us what had happened.  My most vivid memory is that about half my classmates began to cheer.  It is so burned into my memory.
Up until then I really couldn't comprehend things like evil and violence.  It changed that day.  It is also the first time I saw a national "event" captured completely on television.  

I'm sorry that is grim and sad, but I created something that is very specific to this day for me.  These two stencils helped me articulate a memory that I hadn't thought about in a very long time.  It isn't important to me that anyone else is able to read my written account.  It is only important to me that I know what it says.  

I'm so glad you stopped by, and I hope you will stay long enough to leave a comment.  Remember:  leaving a comment makes you eligible for the drawing! 


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Wednesday, November 13, 2013

Houston Quilt Market/Festival Photos

Packed to the gills with clothes and (mostly) supplies for my workshops and Open Studios demos, and also taking many boxes that were shipped to me by Jamie Fingal, I set off across south Texas to Houston....
Good thing I have side-view mirrors, huh?!

Yikes, this is a lot of stuff

I participated in 2 book signings for the fabulous
"Where Women Create:  Quilters"
by Jo Packham
Directly behind me is the wonderful Alissa Haight Carlton, and to my left is Amanda Murphy.

I'm so honored to be a part of this beautiful book.

Here I am with Alissa Haight Carlton and Kaari Meng, of French General.


Jamie and I pose with Trix, who comes from Europe to hang the quilt show.
She is a very talented quilt maker, too!
I arrived in Houston with two sample quilts for my "Fifty Shades of Groovy" 
workshop that were not yet bound.  Oy!
So, here I am on my hotel room bed working on my bindings...


I got to model Jamie's Doc Marten boots decoupaged with her new fabric line from Hoffman

People admire the quilts after Jamie's "school house" session during Market
another evening of binding....



My college job at a florist comes in handy as I make 4 bouquets for the "What's For Dinner" exhibit!


My dear friend, Melly Testa, came to Quilt Market.
Here we are at the Modern Quilt Guild meet-up

Sigh.
I love the pattern on this floor mat.
Do I remember where I saw this?  No.


Here is my crazy dog, Bizzi, "driving" my car.
I joked that she was hunting for deer.
I am showing this because I made many 4x6 postcards,
some with Bizzi featured, for the 2nd annual Pet Postcard Project.
The project raised money for Friends For Life, Houston's only no-kill animal shelter.


Another night, more binding.  Sigh.


Our "Painting With A Twist & Shout" class. Fun!

An evening soak in the Hilton pool/spa

Looking at the Houston skyline from the balcony by the pool
(on the 23rd floor)

Wednesday:  day off, and our annual trip to the eyeglasses place!
Here are new newest pair....

Thursday:  Halloween and some "Witch Stitchery" in the Brother Sewing Lab.

More binding......

before Caryl's beautiful 30th anniversary of quilting exhibition.



Students discuss their creations in my workshop,
"Fifty Shades of Groovy".
By the way, I got both quilts bound in time for this workshop!  Yay!

Sunday:  packing up to check out of the hotel. Oy!

The awesome bellman managed to get all this stuff onto one cart.
He is a pro....

The drive back to San Antonio and a beautiful evening sky.

Last day together:  lunch at LaFonda on Main
under my favorite tree.

These were but a few of the many things that occurred during Market and Festival.
I was so fortunate to have five of my quilts in the show:  one group entry, one digital entry, one in the Modern quilt showcase, and two curators' pieces (one in An Exquisite Moment, one in What's For Dinner?).  My donation quilt sold to my good friend, Jeannie Palmer Moore.  I hope my pet postcards all went to good homes.  
The best thing about it all?  The amazing people I get to hang out with.  Seeing dear friends at this event means so much to me.